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DCAU influences on mainstream comics
The DCAU, though it is primarily derivative of DC Comics, produced several creative innovations that were adapted into the mainstream comics and other media. Original Characters The following is a partial list of characters created for the DCAU who found their way into the mainstream comics: Lock-Up Harley Quinn Arguably the most successful "addition" to the mainstream comics is Harley Quinn, the Joker's girlfriend. She was initially introduced in the episode "Joker's Favor", voiced by Arleen Sorkin. The character quickly became hugely popular. DC released a graphic novel collection, Batman: Harley Quinn giving Harley's "official" origin in the comics continuity. This origin is closely similar to that of "Mad Love." Television: A character named Dr. Harleen Quinzel was the main antagonist of the short-lived Birds of Prey live-action series, which takes place in a Gotham City after both Batman and the Joker have passed on. Posing as a legitimate psychiatrist, Harleen is secretly a criminal mastermind, seeking revenge against Gotham City as a whole, and especially against the Birds of Prey (whose ranks include Batman and Selina Kyle's daughter, Helena), for Joker's death. She was played in the un-aired pilot episode by Sherilyn Fenn, and in every episode thereafter by Mia Sara. Ironically, Harley's incorporation into the mainstream comics also led to her inclusion in the Bat-Embargo, which came into effect around the time the second season of was being produced, and which barred the use of any Batman-universe characters in further DCAU productions. Harley also appears as a character in the non-DCAU animated series The Batman, where she is voiced by Hynden Walch. In the DC Universe Original Animated Movie "Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths," where the Joker's counterpart is known as "The Jester," Harley is a monkey wearing a miniature version of The Jester's outfit and is distraught when learning of his demise. Mercy Graves Livewire Renee Montoya Montoya was created for the Writer's Bible as an audience viewpoint and minority character - the GPD's roster in the comics included white men mostly. The concept proved so popular that she was taken over in the comics. She deputed in Batman #475 (cover date March 1992), as Gordon's new assistant. Her first words were "Madre de Dios", a phrase she later used in the DCAU twice. In the Writer's Bible, she was described as a child of Crime Alley, devoted to charity work for the Cathedral, and the widow of another cop. She had a strong dislike of Bruce Wayne because of his lack of charity work. However, none of it ever made it into the series or the comics. Starting as a beat cop, she became a detective around the same time in the comics and series, but the comics character grew even more. She appeared prominently during the Knightfall storyline, when she faced off with serial killer Mr. Zsasz, and helped Batman defeat him. Subsequent stories fill in her background as the child of immigrants from the Dominican Republic, who, impressively, worked her way up through the mostly male, mostly white GCPD ranks. During the No Man's Land story line, she served as a negotiator between Gordon and Two-Face, who took a liking to her. After she refused his love, he outed her as a lesbian. After quitting her job, breaking up with her girlfriend and battling alcohol, she was taken under the wing of Vic Sage, the Question. They were mayor players in 52, and she eventually became the second Question when Vic died of lung cancer. In Teen Titans (Vol. 3) # 17 (Part 1 of the Titans Tomorrow storyline), a Gotham City ten years into the future is shown with the retired Commissioner James Gordon speaking with Renee who appears to be the current Commissioner. The character of Detective Anna Ramirez, played by Monique Gabriela Curnen in The Dark Knight and voiced by Ana Ortiz in Batman: Gotham Knight may have been partially based on Montoya. Roxy Rocket Roxy Rocket made a cameo appearance in Detective Comics #822 (written by Paul Dini). She appeared near the end of Batgirl #6 where she is identified by Roulette as "Every insurance company's nightmare, and every wild man's fantasy, Roxanne "Rocket" Sutton." She made her first proper appearance in Batgirl #7, battling the new Batgirl, Stephanie Brown. Volcana Volcana has had cameo apperances in Superman comics. One cameo was in the recent Superman 80-Page Giant where she is fighting Superman in the outfit she wore on Justice League and Justice League Unlimited. Terry McGinnis The character has had many recent cameo appearances in mainstream comics, one of which (in Superman/Batman #23) has him using the first Batwing rather than the fifth Batmobile. Several aspects of his costume were adapted as well: the red in Kate Kane's Batwoman outfit, and the full face mask was used in the Batgirl costumes of Huntress and Cassandra Cain. Recently, it was announced that a new comic series starring Terrence McGinnis of Earth-12 (taking place after the events of the show, but long before the events of Epilogue) will be published in 2010. Warhawk In a reality warped by Kwaku Anansi (in [[w:c:dcdatabase:JLA Vol 1|JLA #22-#26]]), alternate versions of well-known heroes are created. One alternate hero is named "Hawk". He wears a red version of Warhawk's armor, complete with wings. Character Revamps Clayface The original Clayface from the comics, Basil Karlo, had certain attributes adapted into the animated incarnation of Matt Hagen, who in the comics, was the second Clayface. However, after finished airing, Karlo joined up with various other persons that have gone by the title of Clayface (in a group known as the Mudpack) and absorbed all of their combined shape-shifting powers. After this, his size and appearance became much more like that of the animated version of Matt Hagen. A recent figure release in the DC Universe Classics line even has Clayface identified as Basil Karlo, but with the exact same appearance as the animated version. Clock King The DCAU version of the Clock King (Temple Fugate) was a complete reinvention from the original (named William Tockman). Recently, in Teen Titans #56 issue, the Temple Fugate version of the character was introduced into the comics with slight alterations from his animated incarnation in that he appears younger, is more psychotic and has precognitive abilities as opposed to an excellent sense of timing. Killer Croc Waylon Jones was originally (and was consistently referred to as) a human with a very rare skin condition. made a point of introducing him as a mutated human with reptilian attributes to his body (and seemingly his DNA). Batman examining one of his teeth and finding it to have both human and reptilian characteristics confirms that Croc in the DCAU seems to be a genuine "lizard man". Throughout the past decade, the comics have slowly made him more and more reptilian, mentioning in the Hush storyline that his body is mutating rapidly for some reason. The character currently has fully developed jaws and even a tail. Mr. Freeze In the comics, Mr. Freeze was originally a gimmicky, mad scientist character. The animated portrayal made him both more complex and more sympathetic, showing his "frozen" condition to be the result of a tragic accident involving his terminally ill wife. The comics Freeze's origin was retconned to reflect this deeper history. The re-vamped comic book origin adds a backstory showing that Victor Fries was abused as a child, both by his father and by childhood bullies. As an escape, he developed a habit of freezing insects and live animals in jars of water, because, as he explained to a psychiatrist, he liked to preserve them as they looked, unchanged and beautiful. Meeting Nora in college, the shy boy fell passionately in love. As in the animated series, when Nora fell ill, he froze her while looking for a cure for her condition, and suffered the accident when his corporate employers attempted to shut her capsule down. In a confrontation between Batman and Mr. Freeze, Freeze inadvertently blasted Nora's cryo-capsule, causing it to shatter. Blaming Batman for his wife's death, Freeze swore revenge. Film: Mr. Freeze was one of the featured villains in the live-action film Batman and Robin, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film's storyline attempted to combine aspects of the animated Freeze's tragic history with the mad scientist character of the early comics. In the film, Victor Fries is both an Olympic level athlete, and a brilliant scientist, who freezes his wife when she is diagnosed with a fictional disease called McGregor's Syndrome. The accident in his lab which causes his condition is not blamed on any particular person. After the accident, he steals diamonds, both to power his cryo-suit, and to fund his research into a cure for his wife. After Batman foils Freeze's plan to freeze all of Gotham, Batman reveals that he has saved Nora's capsule from attempted sabotage by Poison Ivy, and offers to transfer the capsule to Freeze's cell at Arkham, so he can continue his research. In exchange, Freeze gives Batman a cure for an early-stage version of McGregor's, which Alfred is dying of. Despite the character's tragic story, he commits his crimes in a flamboyant, cartoonish way quite unlike the animated Freeze, surrounded by hockey-playing thugs, and seemingly taking mad delight in his victims' suffering. The incongruity between the two aspects of the character, combined with Schwarzenegger's flat performance, was one of several likely reasons for the film's poor reception. Parasite The animated incarnation of the Parasite was fairly close to the original incarnation of Rudy Jones, aside from having a slightly different overall appearance that resembles the pre-Crisis Maxwell Jensen version; the comic version lacked the distinctive 'bands' that were part of the animated Parasite's design. Soon after, this band pattern seen on the animated Parasite was used on the comic version. Later still, the comic Parasite mutated further and acquired a mouth full of sharp teeth, almost like a leech; this appearance was used as the basis for Parasite's appearance in , "Epilogue". Riddler Before his appearance in , Edward Nygma's usual costume was a green jumpsuit riddled with question marks. In comic appearances subsequent to , he wears the more subdued look (green suit and bowler hat) used in that series. A similar suit was worn by Frank Gorshin during a few instances in the 60's Adam West Batman TV show (the actor was uncomfortable wearing the jumpsuit in most of his appearances) and occasionally shown in the comics, but the animated series popularized it enough that it became the Riddler's default look in the comics. Static The original comic incarnation of Static was published by Milestone Media, but very little of the comics was used for his animated counterpart. Recently, after years of legal paperwork, Static has joined the Teen Titans series in the mainstream DC Comics, with a costume very similar to the uniform he wore during seasons 3 and 4 of . His first mainstream appearance was at the end of Terror Titans #3. Issue 4, his first active appearance, showed him to have resistance to mind control, as he did on the episode "Attack of the Living Brain Puppets". An older Static, who appeared in Milestone Forever #2, sported a chin beard and hairdo similar to the old Static seen in "Future Shock". John Stewart John Stewart's animated incarnation has a very different backstory to that of his comic-book incarnation; in that whilst his comic counterpart was a former architect before becoming a Green Lantern, his animated incarnation was a former marine. Recent appearances by his character have attempted to insert part of this backstory in with that of his comic version. The comics also began using the exact same suit and appearance that he was seen using in , minus the black gloves. *In JLA #13, John Stewart says that he would look good bald and might grow a goatee "to add a little funk", which he did in . J'onn J'onzz The Martian Manhunter's animated appearance very closely matched his traditional appearance in the comics for years, that of a cloak, harness, pants and boots. However, after the "One Year Later" gap, the comic incarnation of the character began wearing a full-body suit very similar to what the Justice Lord J'onn wore (with certain elements of the traditional look worked in). This look was kept until the character's death in Final Crisis. Perhaps in remembrance of that, J'onn wears the full body suit on Justice League: Crisis On Two Earths while his Crime Syndicate counterpart, J'edd J'arkuss, wears an outfit similar to the traditional one. Supergirl In 1996, at the same time that was airing, the current incarnation of Supergirl was given a comic series. This Supergirl was the combined merged form of a life-form known as Matrix and a human girl named Linda Danvers. Eventually, she was given the exact same costume and physical appearance that Kara In-Ze had right up until her costume change in Chaos at the Earth's Core. Interestingly enough, the DCAU version's costume change happened not too long after the Kara Zor-El version of the character had been reintroduced into the mainstream DC Universe. Tim Drake After the 'One Year Later' gap, Tim Drake began wearing a red and black suit that closely resembled his animated appearance for four years before switching to his new Red Robin identity. His previous suit was essentially the one seen being worn by the animated version of Dick Grayson during his time as Robin. He also became orphaned and was adopted by Bruce Wayne like in his animated counterpart. The explanation given for his costume change is that it's meant to honor the death of Superboy, who wore those colors. Toyman In 2006, a new robotic version of the Toyman was introduced into [[w:c:dcdatabase:Action Comics Vol 1 837|Action Comics #837]], working for Lex Luthor. His appearance highly resembles the animated Toyman, who was merely a human wearing a doll-like mask. It is stated that this Toyman was created by the original human incarnation, Winslow Scott. He was later renamed as 'Toyboy'. Zatanna Zatanna's comics history has been retconned to make her and Bruce Wayne childhood friends, plus the fact that her father, Zatara, was one of the young Bruce's teachers. Likewise, several stories suggest a strong attraction between the two characters, though they never act on it. Other Influences *Scarecrow's plot to lace Gotham City's entire water supply with fear toxin, from beneath the grounds of Arkham Asylum, was also used in the film Batman Begins. ** Similarly, the 2009 video-game Batman: Arkham Asylum also features Scarecrow threatening to poison Gotham's water supply as a last resort after being beaten by Batman. He is stopped when he is attacked (and almost eaten) by Killer Croc. *Brainiac being an android program from the planet Krypton, was a direct inspiration for his incarnation on The CW tv series "Smallville" where he is played by James Marsters. *Lois Lane's nickname for Clark Kent, "Smallville", was later used by Lois in the comics and the tv series Smallville. * Two-Face's two faces has traditionally been caused by acid thrown at him in a court room, however, the concept of it being caused by an explosion was adopted in The Dark Knight. *''Batman: No Man's Land Secret Files and Origins'' features a story called "No Man's Land: The Animated Series", written and drawn by Scott Peterson and Craig Rousseau. In the story, Batman and Batgirl (Cassandra Cain) are on a stake-out; it is later revealed that it was, in fact, a TV show. *In Catwoman (Vol 2) #89, Harley Quinn attempts to sell a story idea about Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and herself, but ends up using a can of laughing gas on everybody there when they completely change the story pitch. The art used in the comic for Harley's "pitch" uses / style. *The short story "Off Rogue Racing" in Batman Annual #27 features Annie next to Clayface. *In Batman: Streets of Gotham #4, Black Mask buys a pig farm that used to belong to Farmer Brown. The story was written by Paul Dini. *On many occasions throughout the comics, Batman's collection of Batmobiles past and present is seen to include those seen on movies and TV shows. One such example in the conclusion of the Heart Of Hush storyline (Detective Comics #850), features a shot of the second and third DCAU Batmobiles, the Tumbler from the Nolan movies, and a partially built Batmobile from the Burton movies. *In [[w:c:dcdatabase:Batman Vol 1 666|Batman #666]], a future is shown with Damian Wayne (Bruce Wayne and Talia's son) as Batman. In this future, Barbara Gordon, though still confined to a wheelchair, has followed in her father's footsteps (figuratively speaking) and become police commissioner (as she did in the future of ). *''Dark Claw Adventures #1, featuring Dark Claw (a combination of Batman and Wolverine), resembles ''The Batman Adventures comic book in title, drawing style, and creative team. *In the JLA storyline, "Tower of Babel," Ra's al Ghul uses a tower to disrupt people's perception of language - causing them to to see gibberish instead of words, and eventually hearing it when people talk. This is somewhat similar to the Batman Beyond episode "Babel" in which Shriek uses a tower to disrupt air molecules - causing people to hear gibberish when others speak. *In Birds Of Prey'' #15, a TV screen is shown in the background with an unclear image of what looks like the Batman Beyond Batsuit with the red symbol and wings turned blue and the utility belt colored the usual yellow. **Note: had only been airing for about a year at the time of this issue. *''Nightwing'' #52's plot resembles that of episode "You Scratch My Back," though it only involves Nightwing and Catwoman. *The Batmobile used by the current Batman (Dick Grayson) has a hover mode that allows for air travel, though it is not as maneuverable as the Batplane. Though it bears no resemblance to the Batman Beyond Batmobile in shape, its front is covered by a large version of Terry's red Bat symbol. Also, both Batman and Robin currently have two spikes on each of their forearms as opposed to the usual three, just as Terry's Batsuit does. The future Tim Drake in the Teen Titans storyline "Titans Of Tomorrow" also has only two spikes on each arm. *In Joker: Last Laugh #4, Black Mass, who had been "Jokerized" along with all of the other prisoners in the Slab, was shot. Before effectively dying, he echoes the Joker's last words on Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker: "That's not funny. That's not..." *In Nightwing #101 (Part 1 of the Nightwing: Year One storyline), Dick Grayson is shown in a costume very similar to Tim Drake's (because of the snow), which is the costume he uses in . The Matt Hagen Clayface appeared looking very similar to his DCAU appearance as well. *In Booster Gold #21, Booster is mistaken for Green Lantern as he was in "The Greatest Story Never Told", though it was because he was in Coast City and no one could see him clearly. *On the Batman: The Brave And The Bold episode "The Super-Batman of Planet X", the Batman of Zur-En-Arrh (voiced by Kevin Conroy) uses a grappling hook very similar to the one Batman uses from onwards (same shape, but different in color and size). *Summer Gleeson was featured in the Black & White Feature of ''Batman: Gotham Knights'' #33 in very much the same manner she was on . *In Batman #486, Harold, Batman's mechanic, is debugging a computer animation program he created. On the screen, an image of Batman from is shown. *In Milestone Forever #2, which ties up the events of the old Milestone series, Rick Stone is referred to as "Richie". Though both Rick Stone and Richie Foley (who is based on Rick) are named Richard, the former had always been called "Rick" for short. * The electrified knuckle dusters that Batman uses during Darkseid's invasion on the finale "Destroyer" are used by the current Batman in comics, Dick Grayson, in Batman And Robin #12, though they are more bat-shaped, following the standard of most items in the Bat-Arsenal. * The confrontation between Superman and Lex Luthor at the end of Premiere, "The Last Son of Krypton, Part III," is virtually identical to the opening scene of Part II of the series premiere of the later-produced animated series Iron Man: Armored Adventures: **Evil businessman Obadiah Stane (who, like Luthor, is bald), is discussing weapons and armor in his office when someone points out the hero, Iron Man hovering outside the window; **Stane offers Iron Man a partnership, only to be met with "the silent treatment"; **Stane finally loses his composure, and Iron Man warns, "I'll be watching you." Category:Non-Canon articles